♪ dream on ♪ dream on ♪ dream until your dream comes true ♪ >> i introduced the heavy weight champion of my life. that didn't come out right. >> we didn't need a mamby pamby leader. >> my husband is brilliant. ♪ ♪ sing for the tear today is indeed super tuesday.

the president has stolen the thunder from the republican campaign trial by hosting his first news conference of the year. all eyes and every news network were fixed on the white house briefing room it was a wide ranging affair. one that began with questions about the serious issue of what to do with iran and its apparent desire to make new technology. the president wasted no time to e vis rate what's been coming from the republican campaign trail. >> when i see the casualness with which some of these folks talk about war, i'm reminded of the costs involved in war. i'm reminded the decision that i have to make in terms of sending our young men and women into battle. this is not a game. there's nothing casual about it. >> indeed. the president didn't just scold his would-be opponents for their loose talk. he put his cards on the table

and dared the republican candidates to do the same. >> when i see some of these folks who have a lot of bluster and a lot of big talk but when you ask them specifically what they would do, it turns out they repeat the things we have been doing over the last three years. if some of these folks think that it's time to launch war, they should say so. they should explain to the american people exactly why they would do that and what the consequences would be. everything else is just talk. >> he said that he's not inclined to rush into war, and said that while the united states remains a close ally of israel, it had to be an honest relationship. that response by the president came on a question from my colleague, michael viqueira who is at the white house this afternoon. mike, you were the first to ask the president a question at today's press conference. it took a matter of seconds for

him to launch the folly of those on the campaign trail who have been talking about war that is full of casualness, full of bluster, and a lot of talk. >> reporter: i think it's clear that came right from the heart from the president. this began on sunday when you're talking about the situation with republicans and the rhetoric that's been directed the president's way with regard to his policy on iran. rmitt romney was in place calle snowville, georgia on sunday. he said if president obama is reelected then iran will get the bomb and the world will change. i think that got under the skin of some of the officials at the white house. coupled with that the president went to apec on sunday morning and gave his speech where he talked about loose talk of war. we thought he was referring to some of the leaders on both sides of the issue, both israeli and american. it turns out that could easily be applied to some of these

republican candidates. the republican candidates appeared there today. a lot of tough rhetoric from there. you heard the president say they are playing politics. if they want to launch a war, they should just say so. >> michael viqueira at the white house. first questioner of the president. thanks so much. let's bring in our panel for more analysis. good day to all of you. dave, if you listen to the president on the seriousness of the potential conflict between iran and israel and then you compare his comments with the stupidity that comes from the mouth of gingrich and santorum, there's no comparison is there? >> i think that's what they call a loaded question, martin. listening to the president at the press conference today, i

thought it came close to a clint eastwood, dirty harry type of moment when he would say, do you feel lucky, punk. i'm calling your bluff. do you think there should be war? do you want gas prices to go up? it was very deliberate. i'll talk about this in the future but i just finished a book on the president. the one thing i appreciate about him is he does think in the long term. that's not always good politically, but he thinks about consequences and where point a gets you to point b. >> it's important for world peace thinking beyond the next three weeks, isn't it? >> it is very important. i think he does get frustrated with the cable chatter and political discourse when it's like bang, bang, bang. i thought mike's question was right. the three or four follow up questions were the same thing like when will you attack iran and if not, why not.

i think it attributes to this atmos spear. >> it's almost like watching what happened with herman cain. it was almost as if today on foreign policy these individuals were just humiliated. they were exposed as children when it comes to the very serious matter of sending people, young, middle-aged, mature from this country into foreign conflict. >> this is the difference between campaigning and goverrening. you don't have the full information that the commander in chief has. it's easy for you to say that iran will never get a nuclear weapon and we will send in the military. we will go do war and do this. it's easy to say that. when you're sitting in that chair and you realize that this is not a linear world and you

have all situations to take into account. when making a serious decision about that, of course the president of the united states whether it was barack obama or george w. bush before him, i'm sure it wrankles all of them who would try to succeed them or would succeed them say a lot of things they know can't be done. >> romney says his iran policy would be completely difference from the president. he talked about the president in procrastination mode. listen to this. >> i also station two aircraft carrier task forces as well as one in the gulf so iran could see we're at their doorstep. >> does the president have a case for suing romney for plagiarism since everything the president has been recommending and doing has been caught? >> it's already been done.

just like when he's talking about domestic policy, he's doing his version of what he thinks he's supposed to sound like. the problem is he has zero foreign policy experience. he was the governor of massachusetts. i'm not sure being the head of the national guard of massachusetts qualifies him to talk about it. >> i guess the olympic games had some foreign things in them. >> there were foreign athletes. he's talking about foreign policy. he knows better if he talks to one or two of his advisors. >> the president was asked about that line by mr. romney. here is his response. >> mitt romney has criticized you on iran and said hope is not a foreign policy. he also said that you are america's most feckless

president since carter. what would you like to say to mr. romney? >> good luck tonight. >> no, really? >> really. >> what did you think of that response, david? >> it's like saying bring it on. it was a classy remark. i'm not going get in the gutter with you. he didn't have to remind him that for his fecklessness. he got rid of a dictator. i think the republicans, i understand what they're doing in terms of base politics, but any time they get out there and talk about rushing into war in the middle east, it only reminds people what happened the last time a republican sat in the oval office. most americans still believed the iraq war was a gigantic mistake.

i don't think this will help mitt romney from a political perspective let along whether it's reckless foreign policy activity. >> i want to ask all three of you to be brief, if i can. the president was asked to respond to the repugnant comments of rush limbaugh. here is the president's response. >> the reason i called miss fluke is because i thought about my daughters and one of the things i want them to do as they get older is to engage in issues they care about. i don't want them attacked or called horrible names because they're being good citizens. >> what was your reaction to that? >> what the president just did right that, that is what mitt romney who have grand daughters made a similar statement. he's got children. the fact that the president can

connect as a parent is something that mitt romney simply cannot do. i think that was the decent response. it was the decent thing to say. it's something you wish one republican in the country would say the. >> john, the president said he didn't know what was in rush limbaugh's heart. many of us might conjecture what's in there and some och those elements might not be too polite or nice to look at. what did you think of the president's handling of that? >> he answered the way he should have answered. he answered the way a president answered. rise above it. say why you picked up the phone and called this young woman, who is maligned so viciously by rush limbaugh and leave it at that. don't get involved in this sort of battling that's going on back and forth between conservatives and liberals about who should apologize to whom for what offense. the president was asked what he thought. he gave his answer as the president. he gave his answer as a leader.

the way a leader should. >> to be entirely fair, you have a one word answer dave corn. what did you think of the president's response. >> i'll go back to what i said earlier. classy. >> thank you. stay with us. much more ahead on this super tuesday. i introduce to you be ef weight champion of my life. wait, that dnidn't come out right. >> maybe i should do all the talking. ♪ i got you, baby [ male announcer ] wouldn't it be cool if you took the top down on a crossover? if there were buttons for this? wouldn't it be cool if your car could handle the kids... ♪ ...and the nurburgring?

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the contest build as the race to end all gop races, super tuesday is finally here. 11 states and 424 delegates are up for grabs in a contest that could, god willing, finally decide this race. >> it's gut check time. who wants it the most. what do you say? >> a key battleground is ohio and with 63 delegates where polls can't agree whether it's rick santorum or mitt romney who has the lead. it's the historian from georgia, newton leroy gingrich who may walk away with the win. it would bring life or a coder to his presidential ambitions. joining us is rick tyler. thank you for joining us. >> thank you. >> mr. gingrich has put a huge emphasis upon georgia and hoping to do well in tennessee and o

oklahoma. in all seriousness, if romney wins more than half of the 424 delegates available today, it's surely all over for your candidate, isn't it? >> it ain't over till it's over. never say never and never, never ever quit. if he decides to go to the convention. we'll be there with him. >> i guess mr. gingrich can carry on as long as he's got mr. adelson who continues to through money at him. do you understand the distinct hypocrisy only for mr. gingrich to be relying upon the profits of sin city from mr. p adelson just to keep his campaign afloat. >> i don't know how much he's given to mr. gingrich's came pain. we're gratef fuful for that. >> how much has he given to

winning the future. >> i believe over $11 million. >> you accept there may be some basic cuization accusations wheh accuses romney of buying the lek where he takes vast amounts of money from the gambling casino billionaire mr. sheldon adelson. >> there's been a lot of things said during the campaign. i've heard newt gingrich say romney make some missteps like pair of cadillacs. i know nascar owners. he's not relating to the average vot voter. there's larger issues at stake of this. we saw the president speak of one of them, the iran crisis. we talked about $15 trillion in debt. we talk about rising gas prices. we want -- i think that's what american people want to focus on.

we seem to be focused on anything but. >> can you explain why mr. gingrich who enjoys his background of political process, how is it that on such as important day as this neither mr. gingrich nor his wife will actually be voting in their home state? >> well, mr. and mrs. gingrich are residents of virginia, as am i. virginia denied him access to the ballot as did rick santorum and everybody else except for ron paul. i held my nose and voted for ron paul. if he can't vote for himself, maybe his time is better spent gathering votes in georgia or alabama. >> is it mr. gingrich's view that if he doesn't like a candidate, his preference would be not to vote at all. let's say we get to the

presidential election abtds it's mitt romney versus the president. if he can't hold his nose, does he not vote at all. does he tell people that vote republican don't bother going to the polls, like i didn't. >> i notice when you talk about the president and holding him in accolade and talking about serious issues of iran and iraq but when you come to the republicans to be fair, we want to talk about trivia. iem happy to talk about -- >> sorry. it's not a trivial manner for a man who talks about fundamental change in the democratic process and uses the word fundamentally every day to apply and he -- just allow me to finish. the reason i asked you the question is the man who holds up the political process with such sensitivity, with such reverence

and respect that that man himself won't vote. >> he didn't sfloet the virginia primary. i have not talked to him because he wasn't on the ballot and wasn't going to make a difference. we could pull him off the road and pull the everybody off the road and waste a whole day trying to make sure we get our votes done here in georgeorgia r fly back to virginia and miss the eight or nine events and vote for ron paul and mitt romney. that woultd be your question. >> absolutely. that would be a properly question. that wasn't what i wanted to know. can i ask you this question. i can't find a political commentator who believes that your can understand, newt gingrich is going to win the nomination. so -- >> if you went back and looked at -- >> i'm talking about today right

at this moment based on the polling and all of the people would agree are experts in the field. >> probably not. >> what is the point of carrying on aside from selling dvds about the catholic church and a children's book about an elephant. >> both are excellent products and have a great message. no one believed a republican would get colleelected in georg 1978. no one believed that ronald reagan could deveet the voef yet union. newt gingrich did. no one thought we could get welfare passed. it happened. look, you can be with the nay sayers. they will always be with us. the people that make a difference make things happen. >> i salute your positivity and your optimism. thank you for joining us.

>> thank you, martin. let's go live to ohio as voters take to the polls. stay with us. >> i need an emphatic yes from you that you will repeal obama care. >> why would i not? there's no -- ♪ please forgive me if i act a little strange ♪ thanks for babysitting the kids, brittany. so how much do we owe you?

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from heavy weight champion to deconstructing rush. here are our top lines super tuesday edition. >> the heavy weight champion of my life. >> talk to the hand. >> wait. they didn't come out right. >> not only did governor romney advocate for a federal government program that barack obama gladly accepted. >> the president considers his plan in some respect following the model of massachusetts. >> he will be the weakest candidate on the most important

issue. >> i need an emphatic issue from you. you will repeal obama care. >> why would i not? >> it's gut check time. >> we don't need a mamby pamby leader. >> all the endorsements have lined up behind the guy with the most money. >> there's enough oil in my hair that it would burn for days. >> if i had an opportunity to have a six to one spending advantage, this race wouldn't be close. >> we have been all over the state from a to z. >> the only giep in the room that didn't. >> i see dead people. >> we're talking about all other sorts of issue, that puts us behind. >> it means your a slut right, you're a prostitute. >> did the people that are upset about their hard earned money tax money going to things they

don't like. welcome to the [ bleep ] club. reimburse me. d >> he only apologized to keep his advertisers proving rush will do anything with his mouth for cash. >> let's get right to our panel. this afternoon michael eric dyson. it's a delight to have you with us. krystal ball is an msnbc contributor and joe williams is white house reporter for politico. the president was asked about rush limbaugh and the larmer question about a republican war on women. here is what he had to say. listen to this. >> i believe that democrats have a better story to tell to women about how we're going to solidify the middle class and grow this economy, make sure

everybody has a fair shot, everybody's doing their fair share and we got a fair set of rules that everybody has to follow. >> the president also said that he did not want his daughters, if they chose to speak about democracy, to be hue mittuated and attacked in this way. has the president humiliated republicans who have refused to stand up and out right con deem rush limbaugh. >> i think by providing a contrast of class and grace and respect for women he has humiliated republicans. i'm proud the way this president personally called sandra fluke and spoke out on her behalf. one key thing that the president mentioned too is that women care about what's going won the committee. they care about their pocketbook issues. they don't want a huge distraction with birth control and these other battles that were settled long ago that republicans have been dredging up across the country.

i think the president really understands and the democratic party has a lot more to offer to female voters this november. i think it's going to be a big deal. >> the president said that leads by practicing civility. he's not opposed to talking about the issues, but he practices a level of civility. rush limbaugh has a history of abusive comments about all kinds of groups. he's said that a black quarterback is in that position because of affirmative action. he's made offensive remarks about chelsea clinton, the child ot president and hillary clinton when in the white house. why has the take on sandra fluke provoked such a reaction? >> i think that people saw this as their daughter. they saw this as a woman who merely tried to express herself in the most reasonable fashion possible, playing by the rules. she's a law school student. he's highly intelligent. she's a georgetown university, one of the finest institutions

in this country without too much self-promotion. >> that's not just you saying that. that's true. >> she's there and doing it by the rules. this man with little less intense than she possesses in her little finger. i think american women had enough. they say this was an attack on them. if you can do it to sandra fluke because she dared to speak up against a bunch of men wh were determining what the practices and behavior of women would be, then you would do it to any of us. i think it's not rush limbaugh, it's crush limbaugh. >> joe. watch speaker boehner show his strikes when luke russer asked him about whether he's fareful of rush limbaugh. >> the republican leaders are afraid of rush limbaugh. do you have any response to that? >> the point is?

>>. >> i thought what rush said was inappropriate. >> what kind of an answer is that from speaker? have you not seen that? >> that blew me away. inappropriate. the point was made by what was not spoken more than what speaker boehner said. this is a repeat of the line. a lot of people have called very timid, very overtly respect to a guy who has gone out of his way to offend a lot of the people that don't agree with him or with the republican party in general. it also underscores a bit of the problem that limbaugh creates for the republican party. they are going to be tied to m him. his remarks are going to be seen. they endorse what he said. >> joe, you're being far too polite. rick santorum said it was an absurdity and romney said it was a poor choice of words.

>> romney said it wasn't the language he would use. rush said it was a poor choice of words. i find it telling that they use the exact same cowardly language. it's pathetic to see these republican candidates, grown men who are supposed to be leaders running away scared and not willing to condemn statements like calling a woman a prostitute and a shlut. >> you would expect him to continue. he couldn't resist opening his large mouth again. here he is on the war on women. >> this whole motion of war on women is so contrived. it's so forced. it feels so unnatural. there is no war on women. what there is is war on freedom. >> there's no war on women. what about transvaginal

mandating probes. >> this man is a leading warrior against women claiming that he's not involved in war. this kind of a voidance and the refusal and a cowardace pft people to take him on. what scares me if they can't acknowledge what he did was repugnant and should never be spoken in civil discourse about women even if you disagree with positions they are putting forward, what more can we think about that they will not do. what will they not stand up for. they can't acknowledge this, and this is the big elephant in the room. what will they do about other problems that need to be arded that call for equal measures of response. i'm afraid that the republicans are out of step not only with the american people but with women in their own party who must be abhorred by the fact that these men believe this about them. >> if i could directly ard that war on women thing. the reason that we see it that

way and the reason it's obvious is when you look at the totality of planned parenthood attacked at the federal level. the contraception debate. person hood popping up not just in virginia, in states across the country. >> senator blunt's amendment. >> that's when you look at states across the country, this legislation coming up again and again, that's when you have things like war on women to describe what's going on. >> unfortunately, rush limbaugh doesn't believe that there is that war. thank you very much. >> thank you. next, from the horses rear to the 2012 horse race. it's super tuesday, and the voters are out in force. >> if you think this campaign against president obama is going to be about the economy and jobs and government being too big, then i'm the guy you need to

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i think i'm goin-... shhh! we find that we don't need to sleep that much. there's an easier way to save. geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. when all the votes are counted tonight, will mitt romney be the nominee or will rick santorum force the race to drag on into the summer? we're back with our ace political panel. joe, almost as if to prove he can't get out of his own way, here is mitt romney introducing his wife in youngstown, ohio. here you are. >> i introduce to you the heavyweight champion of my life. wait, that didn't come out right. >> if i introduced my wife like that i'm not sure i would be in possession of any genitalia for

that long. can we assume that mitt romney's worst is mitt romney? >> it looks that way. the old saturday night live where it looks like he has chocolate shoes because they keep ending up in his mouth. it's unbelievable how many gaffes he's able to make and still be the front-runner. there's got to be something going on. his handler have to be tearing their hair out. >> this has been going on for months. he spent $200 million on this campaign and every day says the most ridiculous thing imaginable. >> te spite all the money that they spent, the one thing they cannot change is mitt romney. no matter how much money they spent, he's still who he is. this is who he is. >> professor dyson, this is super tuesday. we're supposed to be focused on these caucuses and primaries. the president's press conference feels as though it's stolen the this thunder. >> and not altogether

uncalculated. people don't give president barack obama enough credit for the shrewd timing. he's looking presidential because he is the president. he's saying to those guys, if you want to look presidential, this is what you do. have decency. have respect for all members of our society. be slow to anger and do not rush to war. the war against women is extraordinarily as krystal ball has talked about it, pervasive in our culture. let's not pile on. let's defend them. if you want to have the best of america, bring out the best in all americans. this politics of assault will only do the republicans in finally. even though romney will become the nominee, i think he's been diminished by the politics of his own party. >> you said the operation was a success but we lost the patient. we're all going to be up late tonight as we watch these

contests unfold. let me hit you with a quick question about the states up for grabs. does romney have to win ohio? >> no, i don't think he has to win ohio especially when you look another the fact that because of santorum's operational incompetence he failed to get on the ballot. i think romney stands to have a good night. the fact that no candidate really has any particularly momentum is a benefit for romney because of his massive final advantage. >> joe, can santorum stay in the race without winning oh and tennesse ohio and tennessee? >> he can. he's got a good shot in tennessee. he's got a guy with deep pockets who is backing him that will enable him to continue playing at the table. >> thank you so much for joining

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coming difficult to ignore the drum beat for a potential conflict between israel and iran. but at his press conference earlier today, the president tried to maintain a measured response. there is no rush to war. >> when you ask them specifically what they would do, it turns out they repeat the things that we have been doing

over the last three years. if some of these folks think that it's time to launch a war, they should say so. and they should explain to the american people exactly why they would do that and what the consequences would be. >> peter welsh is a democrat from vermont and he's just returned from a trip to the region. good afternoon, sir. >> good afternoon. >> we have heard newt gingrich saying the red light is now on. we have heard mitt romney talking about action against iran. and when we listen to what benjamin netanyahu says yesterday, you get a sense that the drum beat for war with iran is becoming inevitable? >> there's enormous pressure in domestic politics and a serious situation with iran. the president's made it clear that it's our policy to not allow iran to have a nuclear weapon, but the question is, how do you do that? right now sanctions are very, very tough. we have support for sanctions with the european union, with the arab league. and they demonstrably are having

a significant impact. there's domestic politics. the presidential candidates on the republican side are trying to talk tough and ridicule president obama for showing appropriate restrain. and secondly, there's an illusion that the military option, if used, would be definitive when all of us know that the military solution means that other things will happen, and you have to accept the consequences of that and talk about how you deal with that. >> allow me then to show you what rick santorum said when asked about president obama's commitment to israel. here's what he said. >> i have seen the president who has been reticent. he says he has israel's back. from everything i have seen from this administration, he has turned his back on the people of israel. >> turned his back on the people of israel?

did mr. santorum suffer hearing failure because that's not the impression i got from the president's speech. >> santorum is pandering for political votes and talking to his narrow base. romney is doing the same. so is gingrich. but bottom line, this is a profoundly-important question for israel, for the middle east, and for the united states of america. and in fact, it can't be micromanaged by candidates and it can't be micromanaged by congress. sanctions have worked in the past. they worked in south africa. they worked with north korea. they worked with iraq. when you see the history of the sanctions and how much it debilitated the weapons of mass destruction program that supposed saddam hussein was doing, it shows that patience is required. so the president has it right. all options are on the table. he reserves the right to use

force if that is required. but what we're hearing are politicians pandering for votes in the way they are doing it is by playing the war card. it's very dangerous and irresponsible in my view. >> isn't it ridiculous of these individuals to be attacking the president on foreign policy? when this president has been aggressive in pursuit of osama bin laden, al awlaki, he's not someone who is weak in terms of defending this nation based upon his record. look at the facts. >> well, you're right. he's been extremely resolute. he's not been shy to use force when appropriate. and actually, that's probably where he's been very strong. so bottom line, martin, these guys are running for president. they will do anything and basically say anything to try to win that narrow base. each time they are doing it, they are creating some apprehension among independents, moderates, reasonable people who

understand the obvious. that is, yes, you reserve the right to use force, but that is the decision you make with great caution and sobriety. in my trip to the middle east with mr. cantor, when we met with leaders in cutter and the united arab and turkey and saudi arabia, they fully supported the sanctions. they are against iran having a nuclear weapon. but they had a sober recognition that the use of force has consequences and they approach that decision with appropriate caution. >> just quoting the president. he said "we need to be careful, thoughtful and sober in our approach." peter welsh, thank you. dylan is next. we leave you with a moment of silence on capitol hill. congress members are paying their respects to new jersey congressman donald pain. he passed away after a battle of

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